As England and Sri Lanka prepare to face off in the five-match one-day series starting on Wednesday in Dambulla, a warm-up of sorts for the World Cup now less than eight months away, it feels the right time to stumble backwards 22 years, to one of cricket’s greatest stories.
On 17 March 1996, in the sultry atmosphere of Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s captain, lifted the World Cup high into the air. No one could quite believe it. Sri Lanka, the baby brother of the Asian block, the international whipping boy, had popped out of the hat, brandishing a party popper, a grin and a new kick-ass way of playing the game.
Written by Tanya Aldred
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/09/sri-lanka-magical-1996-morgan-england-odi-the-spin under the title “How Sri Lanka’s magical 1996 cocktail paved the way for Morgan’s men | The Spin”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
